In addition to the above-mentioned gods are some personalized gods such as Chi and the Ikenga. Mbiti (1970) posits that when a person dies, his soul or spirit wanders around the bush, until his relations perform the necessary and befitting burial rites. WORLD RELIGIONS African Traditional Religion Baha’i Faith Buddhism Catholicism & Orthodox Christianity Confucianism Daoism Hinduism Islam Judaism Native American Religions Protestantism Shinto Sikhism Zoroastrianism. Instead, they bury the dead wives in the church cemeteries of their husbands’ town or in their husbands’ compounds. : (Interfaith Series, Vol. This is because the word “traditional” helps us distinguish the religion from other religions that has existed in Africa for centuries, i.e. Many Christians are in dilemma when they have marital problems such as childlessness or problem of gender mix in the children. Children are baptized sometimes as infants, in the early youth, and sometimes in later years as the case may be. Together as One: Interfaith Relationships Between African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity in Nigeria. the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being, Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, … This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. Diviners and medicine men reported that the divinities were angry because of the new religion and warned that nobody should join the missionaries. Another area of conflict is polygamy. The wanton destruction of lives and property triggered by these conflicts has resulted in the topic under review. They argue that the Christian marriage and many Christian families are failures in traditional marriage life, going by the number of Christian divorces prevalent now. The natives started to fight for the gods by ostracizing the Christian converts. In some parts of Igbo, for instance, in Nkpor in Idemili-North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra state, the Ikenga is spilt during the funeral celebrations of the owner. Arinze (1974), in the same vein sees this concept of Chi as a genius or spiritual double. They are Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, and Abia. However, Francis (2007) defines conflict as the, “pursuit of incompatible interests and goals by different groups.” Yet, a more elaborate definition was given by Phil-Eze (2009). Contact us if you experience any difficulty logging in. It is necessary to have the perception of the basic concept of the word “conflict” before exploring the extensive area of conflicts between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Most of them, half educated and in many cases utterly misguided, contributed significantly to open disrespect for and disregard of the society’s time-honored customs and religious practices. One of the other areas of conflict between the traditional religion and Christianity in Igbo nation is in burial ceremonies. And, one begins to wonder the difference between this traditional practice and Christian’s ceremony on November 1 and 2 (All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days), the days set aside for remembering the Christian brethren whom they believed lived righteously and died in Christ. Such animals are respected and treated kindly by the adherents of traditional religion and to harm them is a serious taboo, the violation of which is regarded as nsọ-ala (abomination). They believe that the dead ancestors do not come back in their original forms; rather, they become especially interested in the newborn child, who they say may inherit some of the ancestors’ characteristics. What the Bible is to the Christians, ọfọ is also to the traditional Igbo people. Islam and Christianity. Others refused to embrace the new religion because they thought that the missionaries wanted to destroy their culture. Suffice it to note the following: If the sacrifices that God allowed our Father in faith, Abraham, to perform, and the circumcision which God ordered Abraham to undergo in terms of the Old Covenant, have been superseded by the supreme sacrifice of Christ, it consequently follows that all traditional African practices such as circumcision, divination and the sacrificing of animals and birds … After that, the naming of the child and its presentation to the people follows. Africans love songs and dances so much so that in almost all situations they find support and conso-lation in them. It is on land that we build our houses. His latest article was “Cognitive Domains of the Sense Relation of Selected Igbo Verbs” published in Lingua (2017). In the Igbo language, there are so many dialects, which are mutually intelligible. Presently, the ambulance may stop over at the dead wife’s paternal compound and the corpse saluted with many canon guns shots. Besides, there was total lack of knowledge concerning many of these diseases (Asadu, 2014). Christians in Igbo communities vehemently oppose the traditional rites of puberty, which they regard as heathenish and ungodly. They also acted as priests and prayed for their communities. Ii), Together as One: Interfaith Relationships Between African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity in Nigeria., Hyacinth Kalu, Iuniverse. Consequently, the areas of conflicts between the traditional religion of the Igbo and those of Christianity were identified. This product could help you, Accessing resources off campus can be a challenge. The conflicts continued from the beginning of Jesus ministry until it reached a climax and ultimately led to the crucifixion of Jesus. The essential role of Chi concept is seen in the Igbo proverb, which says Onye kwe, chi ya ekwe (when one says yes, his personal god says yes). He hunted and locked up the royal python in his missionary box. According to Agwaraonye (2014), “Man is at the centre of African worldview and that every ontological and material activity revolves around man and is geared towards his welfare and happiness.” Among the Igbo, the universe is conceived as two worlds, the visible and invisible. In addition, Igbo religion makes use of Ikenga. This study adopts the above two definitions of conflict. II) By Hyacinth Kalu iUniverse, United States, 2011. But Christian doctors are unlike medicine men of the traditional religion of the Igbo. At first, the problem which Christianity presented to the traditional religion was not regarded as a serious matter by the people because conversion to Christianity at the initial stage was not an easy task because Christianity was a new religion and something brought to Igbo nation by European missionaries: Rev. Christians condemned magic; they use prayers and sacrament to drive away dangers and difficulties. Together as One: Interfaith Relationships Between African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity... Kindle \ HZYMSS7D1R Together as One: Interfaith Relationships Between African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity in Nigeria. This is so if we agree that God works His ways through every culture and if we also acknowledge that the message of Christ can find root and grow in any culture. The personal god, chi, is what they call the guardian deity deputizing for Chukwu. In more generalized sense, this deity is believed to be ubiquitous and invisible. : (Interfaith Series, Vol. There is much discussion among African … They plunged into the condemnation and eradication of traditional religion. Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity in Nigeria. Christians believe that as God is the creator of every human being, names should relate to him. Christopher N. Ibenwa is a lecturer in the School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Ugwu (2014) says that the Igbo who belong of course to the West African subregion. Members of _ can log in with their society credentials below, Chukwuma O. Okeke, Christopher N. Ibenwa, and Gloria Tochukwu Okeke, This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (. She has published widely, and her latest article was with Chukwuma O. Okeke, “Cognitive Domains of the Sense Relation of Selected Igbo Verbs,” in Lingua. This brought the first physical conflict between the traditional religionists and the Christians in that part of Igbo nation. For this reason, they make use of the minor gods and ancestors called intermediaries. . The ordinary ogu and ọfọ have psychological effect and work on the conscience of every Igbo man and woman. Both Osu and Ohu and other converts started to worship God together in the same church, for in the sight of God, all men are equal. Christianity believes that God is worshipped in the church not in groves, and as such, wasting the groves for idol worship was not acceptable to them. He observed that African religion has many common features with the Christian and Jewish traditions, which contributed to the rapid expansion of Christianity. If an eke killer is not killed by the mob, he definitely faces social ostracism, and when he eventually dies, he will not be given an honorable burial under the traditional religion. Often coercion is used to force Christians to perform the naming rites. Frederick Fennell, Mercury Records, and the Eastma... An Empirical Revision of the Definition of Science Fiction: It Is All ... Social Concern, Government Regulation, and Industry Self-Regulation: A... Mamah, E., Ujumadu, V., Okoli, A., Nkwopara, C., Okutu, P. (. But in Christianity, according to the book of Galatians, everything created by God is pure and clean. Christians should also know that the traditionalists have implicit faith in their ancestors and minor deities because in reality, as the traditionalists look to their religion for answers to those profound mysteries of human conditions that stir the human hearts today as it did in years gone by, so also do Christians look to their own religion. christopher.ibenwa@unn.edu.ng Abstract African society is a homogenous and close one with its unique belief systems. Concretely, the values and the ritual rites of the traditional religion of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria were analyzed side by side with the Christian values and ritual rites. II) (Paperback) Filesize: 8.62 MB Reviews These types of book is the greatest ebook readily available. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. It exhibits for this very traditional peculiarity highly ontological phenomena, pertaining to the question of existence and being. . In Igbo nation, methods of dealing with diseases, misfortune, and suffering were marked as areas of conflict between traditional religion and Christianity. The states are Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom. Igbo people believe in reincarnation but it is only those who lived good lives who are believed to be capable of coming back to human form. The activities of these lesser deities are closely associated and interwoven with the daily life of the Igbo people. It is important to note that the Osu caste system officially, has been abolished by the Eastern House of Assembly. The Igbo believe in the Supreme Being, who is the controller of the world and all that are in the world. He has published in many local and international journals. : (Interfaith Series, Vol. His areas of interest are the Igbo language and culture, and translation. It is made of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit working together as one. eral relationship between Deity and man.” 4. Diviners are consulted to find out the cause of death. No worship in traditional religion is complete without prayer and pouring of libation to ancestors. Not only that, they killed and ate this totem animal, they put its head inside match boxes which when picked up and opened by the traditional religionists, they had to offer special sacrifices to cleanse themselves from the abomination because they had seen the head of eke (Royal python). The traditionalists believe that the number of wives a man has shows his opulence. It is also a measure of justice and fair play. At the end, suggestions that will make for healthier relationship and coexistence between the two religions were made. Igbo people hold most sacred, the Earth (Ala) on which they tread and from which they draw means of sustenance and vital resources such as food, crops, water, and so forth. . Traditional religion was very much based on fear of the unknown and unending sacrifices, including human sacrifices, to appease the. This is the ceremony of finding out the ancestral relationship of the newborn child through divination. One feature is that Bible translations used African words for God, according to Mbiti. . He is said to have his abode above the sky (see Phil-Eze, 2009, and http://www.culturalnormsofIgbos.religion.ac). Christians were opposed to almost all the methods, which the traditionalists used when they were ill, or when they got misfortune and suffering. Statues, images, and emblems of remarkable artistic work and aesthetic merit were wantonly destroyed by some of the overzealous converts as idols and works of the devil. Schon and his associates at the shores of the River Niger. It examines the nature, pattern, rationale for the conflicts. people’s world view is defined as the complex of their beliefs and attitudes concerning the nature, structure and interaction of beings in the universe with particular reference to man” (p. 52). It takes the form of saying “Good morning” to the divinities and of reaffirming his acknowledgments of them to be the controllers of destiny. 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